Tabletop tomfoolery– wizardly wisecracks. We bring you tabletop gameplay and discussion with a panel of lighthearted players.

Archive for April 2015

The buoys, gulls, and otters of the Rogue Elements take an undersea vacation to recover the Pearl of the Ocean from their shaky ally, Mako Longfin. A seabed voyage proves more relaxing than grueling, but their arrival in the undersea capital of Pheia-- currently one big party-- marks another great opportunity for the team to get what they need via diplomacy and serious discussion rather than the usual skulduggery-- ah, just kidding, you know us too well. Once the Pearl is recovered, however, the party will be deeper in (new) enemy territory than ever before...

Hel-lo everyone, this is World Wide Wrestling! Since you last tuned in, two formidable new wrestlers have debuted: the ferocious Captain Cay (Ikks) and the calculating Professor Cluesworthy (Gnome)!

Welcome to what must be the finest second part to a podcast you've heard today! Last time, The Can Opener (Ambisagrus) crushed newcomer Captain Cay and Professor Cluesworthy proved once and for all Eve Young (Drakkel) is the daughter of the legendary Max Young-- and picked up a win by disqualification, while he was at it! The second half of our program notes have sadly been rendered useless, as our veteran Tommy the Cat called for an All-In Brawlin', meaning just anyone could rush in and win! And who did win, I wonder..? This is Jane Dorian, and welcome back to World Wide Wrestling!

This is World Wide Wrestling! Since you last tuned in, two formidable new wrestlers have debuted: the ferocious Captain Cay (Ikks) and the calculating Professor Cluesworthy (Gnome)! In tonight's ice-cold matches, these rookies face off against our fan favorites, Eve Young (Drakkel) and The Can Opener (Ambisagrus)! Our wrestlers are putting everything they've got on the line tonight. Who will make it to the championships, and who will be left in the dust? I'm Biff Wilcox, and... welcome back!

Star Trek, Fringe, The Genius... you know what's a good form of media that is not game-related? TV! Discussion of the usual unrelated entertainment mixed with the usual frantic planning and re-planning.

If you've listened to tabletalk before, this is just like that-- it just gets its own post now! Congrats on the promotion, tabletalk!

If you've never listened to tabletalk before, it is, as you may expect, all the off-topic chatter before, during, and after recordings! Be aware there is minimal noise editing.

The Lasers of the Benedict now know how the evo station crew was wiped out, but not why-- blind emotion ruled the scene. Malevolence is not necessary to cause harm, and valor can be as misplaced as anger. They follow up on their leads at the unnamed settlements within the city's ruins. Many bumpy introductions aside, the crew draws closer and closer to the source of the psycho-electronic interference that has dogged them since they arrived.

Ashen Stars follows crews of investigators known as Lasers as they roam a war-torn galaxy. One crew in particular answers a distress beacon in the radiation-blasted wasteland of what was once a great city. Unidentified shipments of medical supplies, malevolent computer code, and silent rooms of death await.

Special guests Keith Carberry of Run Button and Friends at the Table and Phil Kollar of Polygon join us to discuss a somewhat reversed method of design, genre emulation. Genres, created as an ends to categorize media, can also be a powerful tool to give your game the feel it needs; the key lies in breaking your favorite genre down into the criteria that define it, then analyzing just what it is about those individual criteria you like so much. We present our favorite examples and test the theory out on two game sure to be the next big thing: Where's Waldo & Kevin RPG and Noir Swimmingly.

The CREAM failsafe lands the Elements and their until-just-now antagonists in a saferoom in the middle of nowhere. After taking the time to sort their thoughts on recent happenings and meeting a variety of... colorful people, the team hatches a daring escape plan to Necropolis-- Mako of the Longfin Empire is ready to wage war on the landfolk, and there's no time to wait for CREAM's bureaucratic safety measures. Besides, there's surely no need for safety measures-- until...

Dr Hexagon, Lil B, and Autotarget 9000 of the Raptor continue a guerrilla assault, having successfully infiltrated the enemy ranks. At the center of deadly cannons, thick armor, and blazing ion storms lurks the nefarious perpetrator of this plot, Captain "Queen" Anne. How can one measly crew hope to compare to the ultimate weapon of Pirate Space's combined might?! When sacrifices must be made for the sake of the free galaxy, feelings flare and lasers lance-- just as advertised!Tabletalk-- 45 minutesIf you've never listened to tabletalk before... now's the time.